Gowanus Canal — Local services in New York

I would highly recommend this tremendous experience. The beautiful, green water provides a rustic charm with its fascinating oil splotches and the array of different colored garbage floating in the water. The lovely aroma of algae, sediment and decaying organisms adds to the whole experience. The only downfall was the oysters. I had heard that there were oysters in the Gowanus Canal, so I arrived at the canal with a few friends for dinner. There were some oyster cages in the canal, so we pulled them up. We pulled some up, and to our surprise, they were already dressed in a spectacular, gelatin like dark sauce. Excited, we set out our picnic blanket and got our plates and filled them up. The oysters tasted a little gritty, but otherwise they were superb. We finished up our dinner and walked around the Canal, taking in the view. About 30 minutes after dinner, we started to feel a little off. We thought nothing of it, and continued to enjoy our evening. We awoke a week later in the hospital. It turns out we had convulsed near the canal and hour after dinner and a few very generous people called an ambulance for us. I now have typhoid, pneumonia and dysentary, and have also suffered kidney failure. Despite the diseases I have contracted and the fact that I'm hosting an ever growing colony of toxic oysters that are slowly eating away my body, I had an exquisite experience at the Gowanus Canal.I must go now, for the Queen Oyster requires a constant diet of antelope skin...

Amazing canal, went on fishing and swimming. Really fun, but also the ship we were on sank because apparently the water dissolved the metal but I took a sip, I was fine, for a few minutes, at least. Took a little trip to the ER because of "di-sin-terry" or something, sounds like some random dudes name, so whoever that was, screw yourself. Swimming was fun for me and the kids too. There were some substances floating around, we thought it was face wash, what perfect timing! We're in the water, and plus my skin's been a bit bad recently, so thank god for that, it gave me little bumps on my face, so free cosmetic surgery. While swimming, everyone turned a tad bit green so my nephew said to my brother, "Daddy, daddy, look! I'm turning into the Hulk!". The water felt spicy, like a massage but also as if there were boiling water being poured onto me - sorry, no - being in a pool of boiling water. Onto the fish, it tasted really good, had some cod, looked a little discolored but hey, it's a tiny bit, right? Right? Yeah.. Drove back home as usual, was pretty wet and the leather seat cover melted a bit, but like, that happens all the time, if you use common sense. Overall, the Gowanus Canal is a great stay and definitely somewhere you should visit in the summer. Have fun, and don't meet dice-in-teary, or whatever...

Interesting reading about this place. But it missed one pop culture reference which actually got me to look it up in the first place. In the mid-80s movie Heaven Help Us, starring Andrew McCarthy and Mary Stuart Masterson, one of my favorite movies, there is a scene featuring the canal. The kid Ed Rooney, played by Kevin Dillon, borrows his father's car for a date after a high school dance. He parks the car on the bridge (probably the Carroll Street bridge) for some reason, while finding a quiet place among the industrial wasteland surrounding the canal to makeout with his date. Very funny scene when they get stuck as the bridge is being opened for an approaching boat. Movie also has appearances by Larry "Bud" Melman as the bridge tender, Donald Sutherland as the headmaster, and Yeardley Smith, the voice of...