Wow, this is disgusting. Check out what the Gowanus Canal was like in the wake of this month’s tornado. Warning: Not for the weak of stomach.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. When I watched this on YouTube an ad for Axe deodorant came up! Putting that smell on top of the Gowanus really would make me puke.

    I walked down 3rd Ave on Friday, and it still stank for blocks, now about a month after the tornado.

    Regarding the comment from crimsonson:

    “Now add 10-20 years of that since we decided Superfund is the way to go instead of local government and business route.”

    Wow that is ignorant! The city hasn’t been able to do anything about this for decades. Superfund is a long process, but it will complete the job and do it right, at no expense to the taxpayer. A clean, multi-use Gowanus area between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens will be one of the more interesting parts of the borough, not to mention a goldmine to property and business owners.

  2. Combined Sewage Overflows (CSO’s) occur all over New York City. (Think about that next time you are Brooklyn Bridge Park.) This is the antiquated system we inherit from prior generations. There was a NYT series on this in the past year or so.

    Will it ever be changed? Its an issue of putting the $$ into infrastructure development.

    As I understand it, the repairs currently being done on the Canal’s Flushing System will reduce CSO’s by 30% when completed. It doesn’t seem like much of an improvement to me, but at least it is something.

    The canal does not smell bad very often, except on CSO days. I never smell it one block away on the Carroll Garden side.