The Week in Park Slope

This week may have been chilly, but more than just the weather made headlines.

The EPA finally released its study of the , finding, unsurprisingly, that the canal is contaminated with all sorts of stuff.

“The findings of the investigation of the Gowanus Canal confirmed that contamination of the urban waterway is widespread and may threaten people’s health, particularly if they eat fish or crabs from the canal or have repeated contact with the canal water or sediment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck in a statement.

We took a look at the business front in Park Slope, and found that many neighborhood businesses thanks to bad weather and the compounded effects of years of a poor economy.

The sent a note out to the Park Slope community, apologizing for the decrepit state of the theater and blaming the issue on the theater’s ownership.

The famous finally reopened on Thursday, months after Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project forced the bar from its original Prospect Heights home. Park Slope Patch was there and snapped plenty of photos.

On Thursday Borough President Marty Markowitz also delivered his annual address, complete with a pole dancer and countless cheesy puns.

This week we added a new column, , a monthly photo essay on the Atlantic Yards project. This month progress on the site was easily visible, as steel girders begin to loom over Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.

Our resident night owl Ian Smith headed over to the Tea Lounge, and found that in addition to great tea and coffee, the space brews up some pretty , like the Royal Earl, an earl grey infused mixture of Citron vodka, fresh lemon and brown sugar.

Neighborhood Nests columnist Teresa Lamb took a look at a l on 15th Street, where one woman managed to create in inviting, cozy space despite two roommates and transient furniture.

One Windsor Terrace resident decided she hasn’t thrown in the towel yet, and is to urge the MTA to create alternative transportation while the F and G trains are not running northbound from Fort Hamilton Parkway and 15th Street-Prospect Park.

On Monday, columnist Louise Crawford had the scoop on Dr. Amy Glaser’s new Slope , which specializes in teens.

And finally, today we broke the news that the Prospect Park West bike lane drama may soon , with the anti-lane group Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes weighing legal options for the lane’s removal.