11 acres is a lot of land, especially in a city where people buy air rights for several hundred dollars a foot. So it’s a sign of just how toxic the land between Smith Street and the Gowanus Canal is (and how little interest there was in the area historically) that the city has owned the property for three decades and is only now getting its act together to make use of it. With KeySpan ready to pay for the clean-up, the issue is what exactly to do with the land. As discussed last week, this decision is part of a larger decision about the entire Gowanus area. The extent of the detoxification depends on whether this site will ultimately have housing. Either way, it’s a massive project given that the contaminants have seeped 120 feet into the earth by now.
Open Land, but With a Past [NY Times]
Gowanus Rezoning: Complete Chaos [Brownstoner]