Thursday, December 9, 2010

Whole Foods

Well, Whole Foods is set to open in Gowanus at the end of 2012. Based on urging from passionate Brooklynites, they've made several changes to make the store more friendly and green.

Read all about it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The real question here is not whether Whole Foods should build in Brooklyn; but why should they be building at 3rd and 3rd?

Someone said it's "It's very ecologically conscious." Which might be the case if it were not being built in a wetland district within a flood-way. Just look at the photo provided with this article.

This site is part of a key drainage route for fresh water rain runoff heading to the Gowanus estuary. Any "ecologically conscious" development on this site would have to include significantly porous land surface with appropriate vegetation that could filter the rainwater as it heads to the canal. The new design includes none of this.

Even today, with the land covered with several feet of gravel fill--the most porous pavement you could have on the site-- fresh water ponds have form again over the site. After all, the place use to be part of a large pond that people would skate on in winter.

Whole Foods could find a better location to do their business. This one isn't even a residential center, and there are many residential centers around Brooklyn.