Gowanus Lounge-RIP Robert Guskind

I have been getting a DNS Server Failure for two days now. Anyone know what is up?

it closed down a few months ago.

so im sure shit is going south

Santa,

Not true, the site was active the past months, in fact even when GL went "off line" (meaning no new posts for several weeks) the site was still up.

This is odd. It was up and running this past Friday...

Bob, where art thou?

http://twitter.com/gowanuslounge
there's the Twitter feed...are they just having problems, or what?

Probably "or what"

Does the feed say anything?

last Tweet was March 2
(you don't have to have a Twitter account to look at that, btw)

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/03/robert_guskind.php

Man thats sad. Condolences to his friends and fam.

I've made this a global so folks can post their thoughts/condolences for the Guskind family. Keep it respectful please.

This is devastating news. What a huge loss to the city and especially to Brooklyn. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

Oh man - I am very sorry for his family and friends. I did not know Bob at all, but the Gowanus Lounge was a place I visited almost every day, often several times. He will be missed.

Very sad news. Here's the brooklyn paper link:
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/9/32_9_gk_guskind.html

Likewise - I didn't know him personally, but I was a daily reader of Gowanus Lounge and appreciated all the effort he put into it. My condolences to his family and friends...

I'm really shocked and saddened. He made such a valuable contribution to the community. I especially appreciated GL's support of local animal-rescue orgs.

His posts had been pretty dark lately, though--did that have something to do with his death?

I also read GL every day. What sad news for his friends and family.

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.typepad.com/only_the_blog_knows_brook/2009/03/robert-guskind-1958-2009-founder-of-gowanus-lounge.html

He was my best friend and I loved him dearly. I'm at a loss of words beyond that...

his site uncovered the neighborhood's texture and spirit. like so many people posting here, i was addicted. it was a daily read, a way to feel connected with neighbors, known and unknown.

he'll be missed.

i never met him, but he was a pleasure to correspond and sometimes work with. this is very sad news.

all of y'all out there please take care of yourselves, ok?

This is so so sad. The Gowanus Lounge was the first non-music local blog I was ever a fan of & he often featured my photography. I noticed things seemed to be rough for him these past few months but everything was always so cryptic. How terrible. My condolences to his family.

What a terrible loss. Condolences to all his friends and family.

One of the blogs I check in with has a bunch of the links about him:

http://bestviewinbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-of-journalist.html

Terrible tragedy for all who care about Brooklyn. One of my fav dailies and one I corresponded with him in the past. He was always good to our communities and neighborhood community groups...

Bob will be truly missed.

OTBKB has a good post. Avoid The Brooklyn Papers obit if you feel for this loss.
http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.typepad.com/only_the_blog_knows_brook/2009/03/bob-you-had-brooklyns-back-and-for-that-we-thank-you.html

What a horrible loss for friends, family, and the community. I'm so sad to hear this.

very sad news. I was a bit late to the game to catch on to GL, but once I found it, I read it regularly.

may he rest in peace.

From one of the list servs. More info via the Brooklyn Paper:

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/9/32_9_gk_guskind.html

Fwd to me by the editor of the Brooklyn Paper. The most thorough report to date, at least ending some of the speculation...and of course, opening up some new avenues of wonder.

Link above, text below.

Thanks Gersh!

Aaron

*************

March 5, 2009 / News
Death of a blogger — Robert Guskind, R.I.P.
By Mike McLaughlin
The Brooklyn Paper

After days of speculation inside and outside the blogosphere, much-liked journalist Robert Guskind died on Wednesday, the city Medical Examiner confirmed this morning.

The death of the creative mind behind the Gowanus Lounge blog, whose behavior had been increasingly erratic over the past few months as he has lost several jobs, separated from his wife amid an extra-marital affair, and waged angry crusades against supposed enemies, was first reported by his friend and fellow blogger, Miss Heather, who runs a popular Greenpoint-based Web site.
Brooklyn Bridge Realty

She reported in a video that he was found dead in his apartment. The medical examiner said an autopsy would be performed on the body, which was found at 7:19 pm on Wednesday.

Guskind’s Gowanus Lounge site had been down for days, and his obsessively regular Twitter blasts also stopped coming on Monday, said friends who expressed their concern to The Brooklyn Paper.

The NYPD offered no reports of a suicide near Guskind’s home, which, after separating from his wife, was in the Prospect Heights portion of the 77th Precinct.

In his prime, Guskind’s blog focussed a keen eye on city development projects with an objectivity and a level of reporting rare in the blog world. But last year, amid his personal turmoil, angry, unreported rants became more frequent.

Then, last month, the formerly jovial journo lost a regular job as a blogger for Curbed, a real-estate Web site. Fellow writers who met with Guskind at that time described him to The Brooklyn Paper as “a broken man.”

Check back at BrooklynPaper.com later for updates on this breaking story.
Updated 11:37 am, March, 5 2009: Story was altered to include confirmation from the Medical Examiner and other details.

©2009 The Brooklyn Paper

I find that article to be in extremely poor taste. My thoughts go out to his family and particularly my good friend who was very close to him.

I too was a daily reader. Mr. Guskind and his blog touched so many lives. A terrible loss.

That Brooklyn Paper article has to be the worst "tribute" to a man whose blog was informative and entertaining. Though I didn't agree with a lot of what was on the blog, it at least gave a unique perspective.
RIP.

Gersh Kuntzman (Brooklyn Paper) says:
This news article is not an obituary, but coverage of a breaking story that is being updated on the fly.

In due time, The Brooklyn Paper and its Web site will run a true tribute to a man I admired greatly.

I would ask our readers to appreciate that we are putting aside our own emotions about Bob as we report the essential news here. You would expect nothing less on other stories. Please give us that latitude now.

GERSH KUNTZMAN
Editor