A "Grove" No More: Gowanus Site Entirely Cleared Of Trees. Is Construction Next?

Before...

This Morning

Over the last few summers, the lot situated at 400 Carroll Street at the edge of the Gowanus Canal has been used as an outdoor venue for concerts and other cultural events. Coined the "Gowanus Grove" by the event's organizers, it attracted huge crowds every Sunday.
On the venue's web site, the Grove was described as a "little slice of paradise in the middle of industrial Brooklyn" and as recently as last Sunday, hundreds of people were enjoying "its bucolic setting".

Well, no more. In the last few days, all trees have been felled and the land cleared.
The work is no doubt related to the environmental remediation that needs to be undertaken on the site  before it can be built on.  In addition, the toxins that accumulated over decades of industrial usage of the site need to be addresses as part of the EPA Superfund clean-up of the canal.
A truck from PAL, an environmental remediation contracting firm based in Long Island City, was parked on the lot this morning.

400 Carroll Street, along with several other parcels on the two blocks between Carroll Street and 2nd Street between Bond Street and the canal, were spot- rezoned from industrial to mixed-use a few years ago to clear the way for residential buildings.
After the first developer, Toll Brothers, Lightstone Group stepped in and intends to build 700 rental units on the two blocks. A rendering of the development can be seen below.

So no more trees, no more 'bucolic setting', as the "Grove" is swallowed up by yet more development.

Proposed Lightstone Development next to the Gowanus Canal (credit: Lightstone Group)