Oh, what a world: the Gowanus Canal’s floating dome has sunk to its watery death

It turns out that even a giant piece of floating debris can’t survive in the Gowanus Canal. There’s really no hope for any of us, is there? According to DNAinfo, the floating Harvest Dome was pulled below the surface of the canal yesterday, apparently due to its becoming “ensnared” by something below the water.

I mean, that is the stuff of nightmares. DNAinfo talked to dome creators Alexander Levi and Amanda Schacter, who claim it was art flotsam pulling the thing down below the water’s surface. But we know better, don’t we? It was obviously creatures from the watery deep.

To be fair, the Harvest Dome had a good, long run in the canal. Originally slated for a six-month residency in Gowanus’ toxic waters, the massive art project—made of recycled umbrella metal—ended up floating peacefully atop the canal for over a year.

It was the perfect pairing, canal and dome; like a celestial garbage ballet. A symbol of impending renewal among conservancy groups, a reminder to recycle for passersby, and the presaging promise of a canal more hospitable to human flesh. We weren’t there yet, guys, but we were trying. (Some of us harder than others.) In short, the Harvest Dome was our visual reminder that everything was going to be alright.

But even though our visual cue has disappeared, we should still remember to do the things the dome stood for: recycle our trash where possible, be mindful about our use of natural resources, and adopt a rallying, get-back-in-the-water mentality where appropriate.

DNAinfo reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will recover the wreckage of the dome during dredging later this year.

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