When Mayor Michael Bloomberg put together PlaNYC in 2007, he made brownfields – abandoned or underused, and often contaminated industrial sites – one of the three overarching themes of his land use initiatives.
Among the city’s brownfields is a Brooklyn parcel that long was a favorite spot for graffiti writers and squatters, who dubbed it “the Bat Cave.” The property, now called “Gowanus Village,” is a 2.4 acre site along the notorious Gowanus Canal. The towering brick building on the property was once a power plant owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
SLIDESHOW: Squatters and graffiti artists turned an old MTA power plant along the Gowanus Canal into their own playground, named after Batman's old haunt.
