Gowanus Canal Near Boro Park to be Transformed with Landscaping and Walkways

By Yehudit Garmaise

Mayor Eric Adams not only wants to beautify Gowanus Canal, but he wants to make the water so clean that dolphins want to swim in the water that runs so close to Boro Park, the mayor said this morning while breaking ground on a new $1.6 billion project.

A beautiful waterfront esplanade, on which people can walk, amidst newly planted trees and carefully landscaped public space will soon replace the buildings and parking lots that now surround the industrial-looking walkway on which thousands of Boro Park drive by each day.

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Adams and officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials kicked off their mission to transform the Gowanus Canal by starting to create the first of two creating massive underground storage tanks that will keep the canal clean and also prevent 12 million gallons of sewage from overflowing.

“I know this community so well [from when I served as] the borough president, and I saw how storms impacted the area,” Mayor Adams said. “You cannot have a plan of operation that requires you to cross your fingers after every storm: hoping that you are not devastated and impacted."

The massive first underground storage tank, on which work was started today, will span two blocks beneath Butler to Degraw streets.

“This groundbreaking is our way of continuing to move forward with the real challenges that we are facing storm after storm, year after year, and how we come up with effective solutions,” said the mayor, who wants to bring together: beauty and resiliency.

“Welcome to the future of our city, Mayor Adams said. “You don't have to displace the open spaces, the green spaces, and the walkways enjoying our waterfront just because we have to make [our urban infrastructure] sustainable.”