When life gives you toxic sludge, celebrate it with souvenirs
Local Gowanus business shines as neighborhood rises
Ute Zimmermann came to the Gowanus neighborhood in 2011 for a lovely loft apartment, but she stayed for the toxic sludge.
After falling in love with the neighborhood’s peculiar charm — nowhere else in the city can you watch the sunset as you walk over a canal, looking down to see, in her words, “poop foam flowing underneath you,” — Zimmermann saw the neighborhood grow in popularity with tourists as well. So in October 2015, she opened a pop-up shop with local art and souvenirs, celebrating the unlikely appeal of the smelly canal and its gritty surroundings.
Zimmermann planned to run the shop for three months as an arts project.