Mayor Adams and other officials break ground on the new Gowanus Canal overflow tank project. The site, in the background, has been cleared ahead of the excavation and construction. The project will create overflow tanks to prevent sewage entering the canal, and will include public waterfront open space. Image Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

On March 15, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia celebrated the groundbreaking for the first of two underground storage tanks that will protect the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The two tanks will collect sewer overflow during storms and prevent that overflow from entering the Gowanus Canal. The project will also include the creation of 3.6 acres of new public waterfront space.  (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT

One year ago, in January 2020, the Expert Panel assigned by Mayor Bill de Blasio to study the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway issued its Final Report. Mayor de Blasio in 2019 appointed the seventeen-person Expert Panel* of which I was a member, following the angry rejection of New York City DOT’s plan for reconstructing the section of the BQE adjacent to Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn. City DOT presented its plan publicly September 2019. The plan caused immediate outrage. (more…)

ASPCA Brooklyn Office, Shelter and Garage Image Credit: Landmarks

The five buildings highlight Gowanus’ industrial past. On October 29, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Committee unanimously voted to designate five buildings near the Gowanus Canal as individual landmarks. The five designated buildings are the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel Pumping Station and Gate House at 196 Butler Street, the Somers Brothers Tinware Factory (later American Can Company) at 238-246 3rd Street, Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) Central Power Station Engine House at 153 2nd Street, Montauk Paint Manufacturing Company Building at 170 2nd Avenue and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Brooklyn Office, Shelter and Garage at 233 Butler Street.

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Somers Brothers Tinware Factory Building Image Credit: Landmarks

Gowanus community wants Landmarks to continue designating sites before rezoning. On September 24, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing to designate five buildings in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn as individual landmarks. The five proposed buildings are the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel Pumping Station and Gate House, the Somers Brothers Tinware Factory (later American Can Company), Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) Central Power Station Engine House, Montauk Paint Manufacturing Company Building and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Rogers Memorial Building. All of the buildings hold a connection to the Gowanus Canal’s industrial history. To read Cityland’s prior coverage of each building, click here.

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The Gowanus Flushing Tunnel Pumping Station. Image Credit: NYC LPC

The buildings all hold a connection to the Gowanus Canal’s industrial history. On June 25, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar five buildings in Gowanus section of Brooklyn for potential designation as individual landmarks. The five buildings – the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel Pumping Station and Gate House, the Somers Brothers Tinware Factory (later American Can Company), Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) Central Power Station Engine House, Montauk Paint Manufacturing Company Building and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Rogers Memorial Building. All of the buildings hold a connection to the Gowanus Canal’s industrial history. (more…)