This entry of Mapping Gowanus comes from writer Michael Slade.

A Tree Grows in Gowanus

On Third Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Streets in Gowanus stands a magnificent tree.  It’s particularly striking because, aside from a few scraggly, almost unnoticeable little cousins, there are no other trees as far as one can see in either direction up and down the avenue.  If a tree could choose where it was to spend its life, my guess is that a busy avenue across the street from auto mechanics and beer distributors would not be at the top of its list.  And yet, here this tree proudly stands.  And because it stands alone, it compels passersby to notice it in a way its relatives in Prospect Park cannot.  And as it does, this tree seems to declaim to resident and visitor alike , “I was here to see what Gowanus was, and I’m here to see what Gowanus is, and I will be here to see what Gowanus will be… because I am rooted here, and I’m not going anywhere.“