Whole Foods Appears To Be Sinking Into The Gowanus Canal

GOWANUS, NY — The Third Avenue Whole Foods promenade appears to be sinking toward the Gowanus Canal in contorted waves of brick.

City engineers inspected the twisting walkway and ordered Whole Foods hire an engineer to address the problem. The engineer is in the midst of detailing the issue in a report to the Department of Buildings, a building's spokeswoman said Wednesday. Gothamist first reported the disappearing promenade.

The Department of Buildings received a 311 complaint about the issue in January and an Environmental Control Board violation was issued for the owner's failure to keep the area up to code. The city is monitoringthe situation, but says it does not pose an immediate hazard.

In the meantime, Whole Foods has shuttered the stretch of promenade and signs warn to "watch your step" and note that "the promenade will be closed until further notice due to ongoing cleanup efforts and construction on the Gowanus Canal." Whole Food's corporate office did not respond to requests for comment.

A Department of Buildings spokeswoman could not say if the issue is connected to the Gowanus Canal. The federal Superfund site is in the midst of a years-long environmental clean up by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Fourth Street Basin — which the promenade runs adjacent to — was recently dredged of toxic sludge known as "black mayonnaise" at the canal's bottom.

Officials will use data from the pilot dredging to finalize the cleanup plan for the waterway's northern portion by February 2019. The cleanup for that stretch of the canal will likely be completed in 2022 and the entire cleanup will wrap up around 2027.

The Environmental Protection Agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Photos courtesy of Caroline Spivack/Patch