Little Love Lost for Columbia Street Poultry Market

The Times looked at last week’s partial collapse of the Columbia Street building that houses a poultry slaughterhouse in terms of how the gentrifying neighborhood views the business. Plenty of residents thought the place was smelly and barbaric (“One family saw a man chase down a fleeing duck, grab it by the neck and drag it to its fate”) while others suggested that people who complained about it are annoying Johnny-come-lately yuppies. A couple real estate brokers interviewed for the story said the smell from the business sometimes deterred prospective buyers. It’s unclear whether the slaughterhouse, Yeung Sen, will be allowed to reopen. The accidental building collapse was caused by workers digging to improve the Gowanus Canal flushing tunnel. The story notes that as of 20 years ago there were three slaughterhouses in the neighborhood, but if Yeung Sen closes only one will remain: “The last slaughterhouse standing, on Sackett Street, kept a low profile last week, its corrugated shutters pulled down tight. “A knock at the steel door brought Jenny Li, in a white apron. She said her uncle founded the business decades ago. ‘They complain, but we were here before them,’ she said. ‘There was nothing here.'”
A Collapse at a Poultry Shop Exposes a Rift Among Neighbors [NY Times]
Partial Collapse of Columbia Street Building [Brownstoner]