Brooklyn area thrives along Superfund canal

It could be a postcard for Brooklyn's hip resurgence: A shimmering new building of modern apartments renting for $5,000 a month, a gourmet grocery with a rooftop greenhouse, and a funky barbecue joint with drinks flowing on the outdoor deck.

Except all of it overlooks the Gowanus Canal, a murky, smelly Superfund site choked with raw sewage and an iridescent sheen of oil, PCBs, coal tar and other industrial wastes.

It could take a decade or more to clean it up, but for now people seem willing to overlook some of the worst of old Brooklyn to be a part of the new Brooklyn.