Threatened Gowanus Nursery Still Blooming, but Homesick

The Gowanus Nursery, which was exiled from Third Street in Gowanus and reappeared on Summit Street in Red Hook and, then, was threatened by new development, is still alive. Our devoted Carroll Gardens Correspondent swung by this weekend to capture the colors, so we got in touch with the owners to check on their status. As expected, the zoning change that developer Jack Locicero was seeking from the city to develop a was quietly approved in December. However, the economy has apparently intervened. The Nursery's owner writes:

Probably due to the mortgage crisis we have been granted an extension for another year, and really who knows after that...Thank god for loyal Brooklyn customers that don't want the place that they have 'invested' in turn into one more mini-manhattan bedroom, and support the mom-and-pop businesses that make our neighborhoods neighborhoods.

The Nursery has been impacted by both the opening of two other business--Chelsea Garden Center and Sunset Garden Center--in Red Hook (aka the Gardening District) as well as a fairly longstanding redirection of traffic on Summit Street that can make it hard for drivers unfamiliar with the area to find the Nursery. The owner says her long-term goal is coming back to Gowanus as "we'd love a spot back by the Canal." In any case, the Nursery is alive and well and open again.