Gowanus Station Building Could Be Torn Down For Canal Work

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — The cleanup of the Gowanus Canal has put the future of a neighborhood landmark in jeopardy, a group of local activists say.

The Gowanus Station building, on Butler and Nevins streets, could be demolished in order to make way for a "Combined Sewer Overflow" tank at the canal.

"It’s a hundred years old," Linda Mariano, a longtime resident and member of Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus, told Patch.

"It served its purpose in its day and it’s still repurposable. It is the only building within the proposed Gowanus Canal corridor district that actually says 'Gowanus' on it, and I think that’s rather exceptional and important. It serves as an identity of this neighborhood."

Part of the Environmental Protection Agency's massive cleanup effort at the Gowanus Canal includes the installation of the two large tanks that would collect sewage runoff during heavy rain.

An 8 million gallon take is slated to go in at the head of the canal, and the city plans to use eminent domain to acquire three nearby properties so it can build it. The Gowanus Station is one of those.

Activists worry that the historic building could be destroyed completely to make way for the tank.

"This unique building should be incorporated into the tank site design," Gowanus resident Brad Vogel said in a statement. "We all want distinctive neighborhoods: here is a chance for the Borough President to help us achieve that in Gowanus by refusing to sign off on a site design that calls for demolition."

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams' office will hold a public hearing about the possible takeover on Monday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. in the community room at Borough Hall. Then, his office will make a formal recommendation about it to the city.

Community Board 6 approved the land takeover but asked that the city's Department of Environmental Protection consider an alternative design that would save the structure.

"I think that we’re working in a way that maintains what we can," said Mike Racioppo, the vice chair of CB6 and executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation. "As we voted at CB6, we of course care about historic preservation, and we hope the city finds a way to make sure this historic building stays in place."

The state's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation agrees. It sent a letter to the EPA also asking to preserve the structure while designing the tanks.

"Its demolition would adversely affect both the building and the National Register eligible Gowanus Canal Historic District," the letter said. "To destroy this intact, architecturally distinctive example of Brooklyn’s civic and industrial heritage would be a disservice to the Gowanus neighborhood and to the city as a whole."

Image courtesy Brad Vogel